Standard engineering drawings

Standard engineering drawings

The Local Government Association of Tasmania publishes two sets of documents for works on public assets or to create new public assets (roads, footpaths, stormwater infrastructure and others):

  • the Subdivision Guidelines are for use in a subdivision context.
  • the Tasmanian Municipal Standard – Specifications along with the Tasmanian Municipal Standard – Drawings (which are to be read together) are for works outside the subdivision context.

Both sets of documents can be accessed from the Local Government Association of Tasmania website.

The City of Hobart expects that all drawings and specifications for public assets will meet these standards. There are some departures from the standard drawings which are required by the City. View the City of Hobart Departures from LGAT Standard Drawings(PDF, 696KB).

Rather than providing strict prescriptive requirements, the drawings only provide the minimum requirements. The intention of the standard drawings is that they are integrated into the design at hand. This allows greater flexibility to meet site-specific requirements. The designer will remain fully responsible for all aspects of their design and to ensure that designs comply with all the relevant Australian Standards and other regulations.

Road design should also be in accordance with Austroads guidelines.

Drawings

Design drawings for road geometry and drainage are available directly from the IPWEA website. Please read their advice before you use the drawings.

View the City of Hobart Departures from LGAT Standard Drawings(PDF, 696KB).

Specifications

Three specifications are included in the Tasmanian Councils' Standards for Subdivisions.

You can also access and print the Department of State Growth's Roadworks Specifications from the Transport Services' contractor and industry information webpage.

Signs

Signs located over the highway reservation must have minimum clearances as follows:

  • 2.4 metres from the underside vertically above footpath level
  • 0.6 metres from its outer edge horizontally behind face of kerbline.

It is possible that you will need planning approvals for any new or altered signs. Please check with our Duty Planner on 03 6238 2711.

Condition of use

The specifications and drawings were prepared to assist in the design and construction of municipal road and hydraulic infrastructure. The documents are designed to be used in conjunction with each other and under the supervision of City of Hobart officers who are trained and experienced in their application. We do not consider the documents suitable for use for any other purpose.

If you use these documents for any purpose that is not consistent with the above (including, without limitation, for carrying out any investigations, design, construction, engineering, maintenance or other work), you do so at your own risk.

The drawings only provide the minimum requirements. It is the responsibility of the designer to ensure that designs comply with all the relevant Australian Standards and other regulations.

It is the responsibility of the designer and the developer to ensure that safe construction methods are used and that the construction work complies with the approved design drawings and all the relevant standards and regulations.

Private underground electrical connections (PUECs)

The City of Hobart's position on the installation of private underground electrical services within the road reservation can be found below.

Private underground electrical connections information

A Private underground electrical connection (PUEC) refers to a privately owned underground power line that runs from a TasNetworks power pole located within the road reservation to the boundary of a private property and continues within the property. TasNetworks also refers to PUECs as consumer mains.

In 2006, Hobart City Council resolved:

"That the Council issue the necessary approvals to residents or their agents to allow for excavation within road reservations to facilitate the installation of electrical connections within private property, upon receipt of confirmation that Aurora (now TasNetworks) will mark the location of such electrical connection on its plans and take responsibility for the electrical connection."

In 2025, TasNetworks advised that it intends to record the location of PUECs in its mapping system and make this information publicly accessible through Before You Dig Australia. However, current legal and regulatory constraints prevent TasNetworks from implementing this initiative. The City of Hobart understand that the State Government of Tasmania and TasNetworks are working to resolve these constraints.

The City of Hobart has identified that this situation presents an unacceptable safety risk. Workers undertaking excavation in road reservations may be exposed to electrocution due to the presence of high or low voltage electrical wires that are either:

  • not recorded
  • inaccurately recorded
  • of unclear ownership or maintenance responsibility.

To reduce safety risks, the City of Hobart will only approve excavation works for installing electrical conduit within road reservations where:

  • TasNetworks provides written confirmation that the electrical connection will be recorded
  • the location is discoverable through Before You Dig Australia enquiries
  • clarification regarding ownership and maintenance of electrical infrastructure located on road reservations is made via legislation, regulations and/or state government policy.